HELP!! Pre-Op Diet!!

[Amber Danielle 0]

Ok, so I went to my Pre-Op class and talk with my surgeon today. Now I am totally discouraged. It's not that me surgeon isn't nice or anything but I guess I should fill you in on the whole story.

So since my BMI is 60 I needed to be on a longer pre-op diet which is totally understandable. So I started on July 9th like they told me and today is the 17th so its pretty much been a bit over a week. Well I have only lost like 3 pounds. Pretty depressing. I was told to drink 2-3 Atkins shakes a day, and have two meals with 4-6oz of lean meat (chicken, turkey, extra lean ground beef, or fish) and green veggies only! If I I feel I need more I can have a cup of fruit...like peaches or pineapple pretty much anything but bananas. So yeah...I did sorta go off a tad the 3rd day and has a tiny salad as my veggie (lettuce only) and like 1tbs of fat free ranch on it. So I am pretty much following it to a T. I even completely cut the soda out even though they said as long as I cut down (and only diet) and completely cut out after surgery I will be fine.

Anywho...enough with the back story...so now my surgeon tells me for the next week and a half he wants me on no more than 800 calories a day with 60g+ of Protein. The protein isn't a problem but I think its been hell with the 1000-1100 calories a day ive been doing now....what now?!

Anyone have any suggestions of what meals I can have or things what will satisfy me and have like no calories? PLEASE HELP!!!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

- Amber

[lafrogura 0]

I am 3 days post-op. My starting BMI was 67. I was on the pre-op diet for 3 weeks. I only lost 12 lbs. I was supposed to lose 25. I called the surgeon's office 3 days before surgery and informed them i hadn't lost as much weight as i was told to, but they said as long as i followed the pre-op diet correctly, the inside of my body, meaning the amount of fat on my liver, etc was greatly reduced even though i didn't lose that much weight. It still did it's job on the inside by following the diet, but it didn't necessarily make me lose much. as far as hunger, i drank the Protein Drinks, all different kinds, and also bought hi-protein Snacks like beef Jerky and ate pinto Beans from taco bell, soybeans (edamame) and lots of Fiber food. I ate an apple with almost every meal, which really did it's job to fill me up. Then i would also eat a very small portion of meat and maybe a small sweet potato (baked or boiled).. it was a pretty boring diet but it goes by fast. Just stick to it so you don't wake up without a band due to too much fat on your liver. Hang in there!!!

[jazma 16]

Ok, so I went to my Pre-Op class and talk with my surgeon today. Now I am totally discouraged. It's not that me surgeon isn't nice or anything but I guess I should fill you in on the whole story.

So since my BMI is 60 I needed to be on a longer pre-op diet which is totally understandable. So I started on July 9th like they told me and today is the 17th so its pretty much been a bit over a week. Well I have only lost like 3 pounds. Pretty depressing. I was told to drink 2-3 Atkins shakes a day, and have two meals with 4-6oz of lean meat (chicken, turkey, extra lean ground beef, or fish) and green veggies only! If I I feel I need more I can have a cup of fruit...like peaches or pineapple pretty much anything but bananas. So yeah...I did sorta go off a tad the 3rd day and has a tiny salad as my veggie (lettuce only) and like 1tbs of fat free ranch on it. So I am pretty much following it to a T. I even completely cut the soda out even though they said as long as I cut down (and only diet) and completely cut out after surgery I will be fine.

Anywho...enough with the back story...so now my surgeon tells me for the next week and a half he wants me on no more than 800 calories a day with 60g+ of Protein. The Protein isn't a problem but I think its been hell with the 1000-1100 calories a day ive been doing now....what now?!

Anyone have any suggestions of what meals I can have or things what will satisfy me and have like no calories? PLEASE HELP!!!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

- Amber

I had to go on a 3 week liq diet, after that and still doing I drink Protein Shakes and one meal a day. I eat chicken stirfry like crazy, hamburger patti with no bread and salad or FF cottage cheese. I eat alot of yougurt (lowfat) and drink Water all day or crystal light. I am very creative with my Protein drinks I mix small ice cubes, milk and choc or vanila Protein powder in the blender and then add SF coffee or Irish cream or Hazelnut Syrup. I might toss in some fruit or yogurt depends on my time limit. I drink this on my way to work and its good and very filling. Hang in there you can do it and look at the long range goal

[dabble 0]

Doctors are SO different!

I have been on the pre-op diet for a month. Last night I started crying cause I really wanted toast. I only have three days to go, but the month has started to get to me.

My day has consisted of

Breakfast shake

lunch shake

Apple for afternoon snack

dinner has been chicken or fish with vegies. Usually steamed. No potato, sweet potato or pumpkin. Which are like my favourite veggie choices!

Three things have helped.

Variety. I try and add herbs or spices to chicken or fish to give things a flavour boost to feel like I am not missing out. I even came up with a tuna pattie creation that used mashed cauliflower. Not exactly on the diet, but pretty damn close AND a hell of a lot better than what I used to eat.

Concentration. When I am feeling like I snack I focus on how I feel. Am I really hungry or is it a craving that I am feeling? I have been surprised how little I have craved chocolate. It has all been bread related! But it seems to work so long as I really sit back and think about it. If it is feeling like hunger I try and make a green tea or drink some Water and then rethink it in an hour or so. It doesn't always work (especially last night!!) but it has helped a lot. Especially in the early days.

A support person. In my case its my sister. I text her when I am feeling low or hungry and tell her what I want to eat. Last night it went something like:

me: I want toast

her: toast is evil

me: but I want the toast. Even if it is evil.

her: (trying to distract me) We are going to see Batman tomorrow night.

me: Does it have toast in it?

her: No

And so on. Seems silly, but the conversation did help. I was distracted (way to go sis!)And I got through another day without driving to the store and stuffing a loaf of bread in my mouth.

Good luck on your journey. Don't beat yourself up. And remember each good meal is a step in the right direction. A bad choice is not a backwards step - it's just tango until you get back on the right path again.

[twistytoo 1]

Amber Danielle ~ First let me say that you can do this! I do not have my band yet, and I'm trying to lose as much weight as I can before having surgery. I've started eating Atkins bars (220 calories) for Breakfast and lunch. They are much better tasting than they were years ago and are very low in carbs -- like 3 net carbs in One Bar. I've also recently discovered Diet Arizona Green Tea. The stuff is great and has less than 1 gram of carbs in an 8 oz glass. I find that restricting carbs and drinking lots of Water / low cal drinks makes pounds come off quickly. Hope these ideas are useful to you.

[Amber Danielle 0]

Thanks for all the support everyone! It really does mean alot! Its funny...on my 30minute drive home from the doctor I kept thinking about how I couldn't wait to get on here and get feedback because I knew that there are other people that know how I am feeling and it makes me not feel like such a loser. LoL! Thanks again everyone! Now just the count down til' July 30th and I will be home free :-)

[CapitolChick 1]

Sorry to hear you are 'walking up hill' right now.. But one thing I wanted to tell you is (and of course I didn't believe it myself until I tried it) that if you get over 60 grams of Protein a day (like 75) your hunger will go WAY down and you wont feel soo tired.

In order for me to do this, I had to find low cal/carb ready to drink shakes that have 40+ grams of Protein in them as well as any food item (aside from beef or chicken) that was high protein, low cal and tasted good.

An awesome one is LeanBody choco. icecream flavor.

I also went to vitashoppe.com and got these (this may sound grose but they are really good) ostrich/beef pepperoni sticks and (wich are 90 cals and 18 grams of protein)

I never got into ketosis (which I believe is what your doc is trying to do for you to speed up the weightloss) but I was able to loose 18lbs in 2 months (even when I fell of the wagon for at least 3 weeks of those 2 months)

Good luck!!:wub:

[vegasgirl44 0]

My day consists of protein shake for Breakfast, lunch, and Dinner, with a Salad with certain veggies only and salad spritzer. That's it! My day comes to about 600 calories. I just finished my 5th day and I've lost over 10 lbs already. The first 3 days were not hard, but the fourth day I forgot my Vitamins and I was really weak and nauseous. Today, I actually had a can of cream of chicken Soup instead of a shake, and it tasted soooo freakin' good!

I know when I make the shakes, I use one scoop of Protein Powder, crushed ice, fat free milk, and a couple of splendas and vanilla extract. (My boyfriend actually adds lowfat cottage cheese and instant oatmeal to his and it makes a more substantial shake.)

dabble!You are so funny! Wheat toast is the exact thing that I have been fantasizing about. You must be a bread person, too. I would imagine if I was having a bread fantasy though, I would pick French, but the thought of just a nice, crunchy, crispy wheat toasted slice of bread is sending me into orbit! I feel your pain! Thank goodness for a great sister you have.

amber! You can do it!

CapitolChick! I think you just made a good point. I'm going to up my Protein amount while trying not to up the calorie amount too much. That may be part of the hunger and tired issue I am having. Thanks!

jazma! I'm going to check out that flavored SF Syrup you are talking about. I don't know the calorie count, but I'm having a super fantasy about how it will taste in my Protein Drink. LOL! Thanks!:biggrin2:

[rhondalou117 1]

I have found dinner wise, the south beach frozen dinners really have high Protein and a full serving of green veggies. That has worked for me.

[TravelLady48 0]

I'm happy I found this forum, because I am confused. :wub:

After I cancelled my first surgery scheduled for Jun. 12, my surgeon decided that he wants me to lose 25lbs. He wants to see if I am committed to get the band. The problem is that he did not give me any directions as to how to lose this weight.

As I see from this post it looks like some type of liquid diet and light meals, making sure to get the necessary Protein. My own PCP is out of town but I am hoping she will give me more help.

[dabble 0]

As I see from this post it looks like some type of liquid diet and light meals, making sure to get the necessary Protein. My own PCP is out of town but I am hoping she will give me more help.

I am sorry that you have had your procedure delayed. If the doctors wanted you to reduce your BP then they should have at least suggested ways for you to do this.

As I said in an earlier post, most doctors are different, so you really need to talk with your doctors and get some clarity on what exactly what they want you to do.

Having said that, a lot of doctors seem to want a pre-op diet of some kind. The aim is to make key-hole surgery easier to get around a fatty liver.

I have had to go on one for a month and it has been hard going. Some minor giitches, but trying to keep it all under control.

Essentially it has been a shake for Breakfast and lunch. In Australia we have Optifast that is generally recommended, but in other countries i tends to be the local Protein Shake for two replacement meals. My main meal has been chicken or fish and steamed vegetables.

A lot of diets I see here are limited to only green vegetables. I can eat other things, just no potato, pumpkin or sweet potato. My doctor wasn't too fussed when he heard that I was having a aizeable chunk of Protein for dinner either. He figured if I was still losing weight (which I was) then it was okay. Just no red meat.

I can also have a piece of fruit during the day. I know I can add some substance to my diet shakes too with extra fruit or low fat milk, but I really haven't felt the need.

I hope that helps a little with the confusion.

Oh and vegasgirl44, thank you so much for making me feel like part of the forums. No one else seems to have noticed me!

Tomorrow is band-day. Wish me luck!

[TravelLady48 0]

Dabble:

First good luck on your surgery. :drool:

Thanks for your reply. The information on a pre-op diet sounds like what I have found other places. I was thinking about Optifast, it has been around for a long time and feel I can lose quite a bit of weight quickly. I will see my PCP on Wed.

I especially like what you said in your earlier post about variety and the use of spices. I think those will be the key.

I really want to get my band ASAP.

Anne the Travel Lady

Edited July 20, 2008 by TravelLady48

[dabble 0]

Anne,

You will be great at working towards your lap band, because it sounds like something you are keen to get started at working towards!

Good luck with your journey and I hope your PCP can help you work towards you goals!!

Beck

[simplycami 0]

Tomorrow is band-day. Wish me luck!

Good luck with your bandday! That is AWESOME! I am scheduled for July 31st and am getting so excited I am sure you are just about to flip out! Woo Hoo.... Yeah you!

Simply,

Cami

[dabble 0]

Good luck with your bandday! That is AWESOME! I am scheduled for July 31st and am getting so excited I am sure you are just about to flip out! Woo Hoo.... Yeah you!:thumbup:

Simply,

Cami

Wheee!

Thank you Cami!

I am about 6 hours 54 minutes before check in time. Not that I am counting! Just as well I don't exactly know when my surgery is or I would have it down to the minute. I still haven't gone to bed yet, just pottering around the house trying to organise last minute things.

I am a little scared, a whole lot of tentative and mostly just anxious that it all goes smoothly.

I am worried that I am going to start shouting under sedation that I have changed my mind!!!

July 31st will come fast for you and its good to have someone excited with me :biggrin2: I look forward to celebrating your band day too!

Beck